Zoo Fun

My best friend Chandra took a week off to play, so we decided to go to the Woodland Park Zoo. I woke up super early so that I could be on time (yes, I can be on time occasionally) to leave around 930AM. It was hot and crowded but most of the animals were out lounging in the shade or water which was really cool. The boys loved it; especially the snakes! Clay kept saying "I want to see more animals, Mom" even after we had already left. We were there for 4-5 hours so needless to say Clay was exhausted from walking the whole day. The last hour or so he kept saying that he was all done walking and sitting on the ground. I thought for sure he would crash like Eph on the way home but he fought it the whole way saying that he didn't need to go "nappy". Overall, it was a really fun day!

There is a bear behind the glare spot.

Clay liked the fish even though they were just the bear's lunch.

Kai wasn't as thrilled about the zoo as the older boys.

My boys love snakes!

This snake was checking out Eph too.

Riding a Komodo Dragon.

A huge sticky mess!

Ephraim was enthrawled with the gorillas (my zoo favorites).

Playing at the Zoomazium.

Drummin' it up!

Goodbye!

Going to Church and Lovin' it!

On Sunday Jon was sick so I decided to try and take the three boys to church by myself. I had strapped Clay and Eph in their seats in the car and went upstairs to get Kai; when I got back down to the car Clay was sitting in the drivers seat in his suit with his water in my cupholder, his seatbelt fastened and the car turned on! When I asked him what he was doing he told me that he was driving and that he was "big". I guess I should be more clear when I tell him that he can drive when he gets big or that he is a big boy now that he uses the potty. So funny how little kids take everything so literally. Thank heavens you need to push the brake to get the car out of park!



Clay is always telling me about the things he learns from "my Mary" (Primary). It took me awhile to figure out what he was talking about when he said "my Mary helped me say the prayer" or "my Mary told me that (his lollipop he got on Father's Day to give Jon) its called a top pop not a lollipop". At first I thought maybe his teacher's name was Mary but its not and then she told me that he probably meant "pri-Mary" instead. So cute!



Clay tells me every day when I get him up and dressed for church that he doesn't want to go to church ever ever again. But then he says that about going potty and going to bed too.



We were talking about the resurrection one day and Clay told me that he didn't want to die and that he didn't want Jesus to die for him. He was really upset because he thought I was suggesting that it was his fault that Jesus was crucified!



Later when we were reading about Nephi building a ship to sail to the Promised Land, Clay told me that he didn't ever want to go to the Promised Land. I told him that I was very sorry but that he was already there.

When Clay says "cheese" he always holds his jaw crooked for some reason.

The Brink of Insanity

First of all I just have to say "I HATE POTTY TRAINING!!!!" Now that I've gotten that off my chest I can proceed with some literary decency. We have been actively potty training Clay for a little over a week now (and by active I mean wearing exclusively underwear during the day) and its been a nightmare. I feel manipulated, frustrated, irritated, aggravated and the list goes on. It is a constant power battle with this kid. When he wants a toy, sticker, money, or treat (you name it we've tried it) he is willing to give us a couple potty runs but then he gets bored and I get to clean up another mess! When I talk to him after an accident he opens his eyes real wide and nods his head all the while grinning like he is plotting for some future torture.

My mom tells me that he sounds like me; I guess the old saying is true that "what goes around comes around"...boy am a sorry now! No, but seriously I love this kid with my whole heart but I'm about to send him away at least until he's using the potty full-time. My only thread of hope comes from people insisting that none of my other kids will be this hard to train in the future; and if they are I'm sending them to you (yes, you all know who you are!).

There is the upside though to this whole brutal experience (1) Clay is always running around in cute little underwear, (2) I've probably already started to save on diapers (but I guess that just moved over for carpet cleaner) and (3) we've had a lot more family time (never mind its in the bathroom).

Prepping for the potty.

But seriously LIFE IS GOOD!!

The Sun is Up!

Last week we actually were able to enjoy the sunshine. Clay and Eph were thrilled when Daddy set up their pool for the first time. Its totally beyond me how they can play in that freezing hose water even when the weather is stifling hot! Clay kept asking me if "the sun is up" just to make sure it wasn't going anywhere. This week he kept saying "the sun is down but I don't want to go night-night". Poor guy!

Josh is such a great uncle!

Yea! Finally some baby rolls.

My Beautiful Boys!